Wildcats suffer double-digit loss in Stillwater

The K-State Wildcats (20-10, 10-7 Big 12) entered Monday night with only one more opportunity to grab a road win. They were not up to the test, as the Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-10, 8-9 Big 12) defended their home court in Stillwater, Okla. on senior night, 77-61. The Wildcats shot a meager 34.5 percent from the floor throughout the course of the game. Two Wildcats finished with a double-double Monday night. Freshman guard Wesley Iwundu finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while junior forward Thomas Gipson led the Wildcats with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Cowboys found their way to the free-throw line early and often Monday night. The Pokes took advantage of their opportunities at the charity stripe as they sunk 28 of 34 attempts. Sophomore guard Phil Forte led all scorers with 23 points, and connected on 6 of 11 attempts from long range for the Cowboys.

Momentum swingK-State senior guard Will Spradling collected his second foul just five minutes into the game. Spradling was forced to go to the bench for the remainder of the half with foul trouble. The Wildcats were able to jump out to a seven-point lead with nine minutes left to play. From that point, however, it was all Oklahoma State. The Cowboys ended the first half on a 20-5 run.

The Wildcats were unable to recover in the second half, and was outscored 42-34.

X-FactorPlaying his last game in Gallagher-Iba Arena, Oklahoma State sophomore guard Marcus Smart went out with a bang. The highly touted sophomore filled up the stat sheet as he did a little bit of everything for the Pokes. Smart finished with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Smart also held K-State freshman guard Marcus Foster in check, holding the Wildcats’ leading scorer to only nine points.

Going ForwardThe Wildcats will conclude their regular season on Saturday when they play Baylor (19-10, 7-9 Big 12). Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.

SOCIAL

The Kansas State Collegian is the daily newspaper at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. Its content is reported, edited, and produced entirely by students, and students make up the advertising sales staff.

It is the ninth-largest daily newspaper in Kansas and is published Monday through Friday when classes are in session during the academic year, and weekly over the summer.